Book Review: THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT by Riley Sager

THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT by Riley Sager (Dutton, June 2024) Hardcover, 377 pages. ISBN # 9780593472378 

Synopsis on the Goodreads website . . . .

In the latest jaw-dropping thriller from New York Times bestselling author Riley Sager, a man must contend with the long-ago disappearance of his childhood best friend—and the dark secrets lurking just beyond the safe confines of his picture-perfect neighborhood.

The worst thing to ever happen on Hemlock Circle occurred in Ethan Marsh’s backyard. One July night, ten-year-old Ethan and his best friend and neighbor, Billy, fell asleep in a tent set up on a manicured lawn in a quiet, quaint New Jersey cul de sac. In the morning, Ethan woke up alone. During the night, someone had sliced the tent open with a knife and taken Billy. He was never seen again.

Thirty years later, Ethan has reluctantly returned to his childhood home. Plagued by bad dreams and insomnia, he begins to notice strange things happening in the middle of the night. Someone seems to be roaming the cul de sac at odd hours, and signs of Billy’s presence keep appearing in Ethan’s backyard. Is someone playing a cruel prank? Or has Billy, long thought to be dead, somehow returned to Hemlock Circle?

The mysterious occurrences prompt Ethan to investigate what really happened that night, a quest that reunites him with former friends and neighbors and leads him into the woods that surround Hemlock Circle. Woods where Billy claimed monsters roamed and where a mysterious institute does clandestine research on a crumbling estate. 

The closer Ethan gets to the truth, the more he realizes that no place—be it quiet forest or suburban street—is completely safe. And that the past has a way of haunting the present.

My Four-Star Review on the Goodreads website . . . . .

While this is not as scary or creepy as other Sager novels, MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT is a captivating mystery-thriller with great characterization and a lot of heart.

Early life incidents can leave a lasting impression on young people that stays with them throughout life and influences their career, marital status, behavior and choices. This is as much about having to carry feelings of guilt around for over 30 years, like a heavy backpack that slows you down and also makes restful sleep difficult. That is the heart of this novel. 

While Sager provided enough details to make readers identify potential suspects, he managed to fool me again. There are the usual unexpected twists in the story near the end that kept me guessing but provided an overall satisfactory ending to this page-turner of a novel.